Spanish wine

Spanish wine (Spanish: vino español or vino de España) includes red, white, and sparkling wines produced throughout the country. Located on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain has over 1.2 million hectares (3.0 million acres) planted in wine grapes, making it the most widely planted wine-producing nation,^[1] but the third largest producer of wine in the world, behind Italy and France and ahead of the United States;^[2] this is due, in part, to the very low yields and wide spacing of the old vines planted on the dry soils found in some of the Spanish wine regions. The country is second in wine exports^[3] and ninth in worldwide consumption, with Spaniards drinking, on average, 21.6 litres (5.7 US gal) per person a year. The country has an abundance of native grape varieties, with over 400 varieties planted throughout Spain, though 88 percent of the country's wine production is from only 20 grapes — including the reds Tempranillo, Bobal, Garnacha, and Monastrell; the whites Albariño, Airén, Verdejo, Palomino, and Macabeo; and the three Cava grapes Parellada, Xarel·lo, and Macabeo.

Major Spanish wine regions include the Rioja and Ribera del Duero, which are known for their Tempranillo production; Jumilla, known for its Monastrell production; Jerez de la Frontera, the home of the fortified wine Sherry; Rías Baixas in the northwest region of Galicia that is known for its white wines made from Albariño and Catalonia which includes the Cava and still wine-producing regions of the Penedès as well the Priorat region.^[1]